NORTHAMPTON – When news reports come in that a tragedy has happened, one of the first reactions is often helplessness.

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December was especially difficult for students, who had to read about 20 of their peers being killed by a crazed gunman who also killed his mother and himself.

In Northampton, the effects of that rampage was felt a few days later when Northampton High School officials found a threatening note in the building. Police evacuated the school. Later, students were asked to sign a pledge to take such threats seriously. Some, along with their parents and the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, were upset to learn that police hoped to use the handwriting samples to find the perpetrator. To date, that effort has borne no fruit.

When the Youth Commission began searching for its next project, the Sandy Hook shootings immediately came up for discussion.

“Every year, we try to choose a big project to devote our discussion and time to,” said Emma West, a senior at the high school and a commission member since her freshman year.

One of many committees attached to the City Council, the Youth Commission is made up of students who put their energies into projects that involve young people and social issues. Council President William H. Dwight serves as liaison to the commission.

With the Newtown shootings still in the air, the sign of armed police officers in their own school galvanized the Youth Commission, West said. “We thought it was very relevant to us as Northampton youth.”

Commission members talked to fellow students at lunch and in the hallways and found there was a consensus for action. The group decided to focus on gun control. Drawing up a petition for universal background checks, a ban on private ownership of assault weapons and stricter overall regulations about purchasing guns, the commission gathered 270 signatures.

“The handwriting (controversy) was part of the discussion,” West said, calling the incident “disconcerting.” “Not much information was given to students. We felt we wanted to be heard.”

The petition states: “The youth of Northampton ask for community support in making our schools, towns, neighborhoods and homes safer for generations to come.”

The Youth Commission presented the signatures to the City Council on May 16, asking the council to draft its own resolution endorsing the idea in the petition. Dwight said he is drafting such a resolution using language from the petition. He hopes to present it for a vote at the next council meeting on June 6.